I don't make threads often but thought I'd share an observation on the current state of women's MMA.

Now before I begin I'd like to state that the ladies definitely do try really hard which is worthy of everyone’s respect, but with that in mind, a few facts:

-The average woman has about 1/4 the strength of the average man-Women have measurably less cardio-Women's MMA is, skill wise, between 10-15 years behind men’s MMA

#1 ranked Ronda Rousey's skill level is comparatively about a 1994 Royce Gracie. No hate, Royce was awesome for his time, just honesty.

Now before you call me sexist, misogynistic, etc, consider who the most hyped and generally biggest selling MMA draws are: the larger fighters. Why? Simply put people want to know who the baddest man on the planet is, a theme which has carried over from the "style vs style" matchups of the SEG era UFC. They want to see a guy who could kick THEIR ass.

Yes, there are superstars of the smaller divisions but the number of higher paid fights decreases rapidly relative to their weight, which proves who actually sells. Hardcore fans appreciate all weights but not the mainstream, who make up the vast majority of the demographic.

Take a look at the top earners of 2012. Only 1 (GSP) is below 185lbs, and none from the 4 divisions below welterweight (where women reside in) are featured. http://www.mma-manifesto.com/ufc-fighter-salary-database/salary-main/2012-fighter-salaries-top-10-earners.html

So what do you do with an almost all male audience who wants to watch the highest possible level of strength, skill, athleticism, a deep talent pool, and big knockouts? Find the best looking women to divert the attention from that.

Coincidence that the two most popular female MMA fighters are attractive to the majority of men? If Rousey was a dog she would never have been preened to be the champion. Gina Carano was the only reason to care about women’s MMA for the longest time, and now editorials with “sexy” MMA girl pics are popping up left and right.

On top of that Zuffa is now marketing the next episode the The Ultimate Fighter with men and women in the same house, an obvious grab for sex appeal/flirtation. Why not just let the women have a separate house?

They realize people tune in for the spectacle of fit women in tight skimpy outfits taking on all sorts of positions. Smart money is definitely on the next season’s women being above average looking.

This begs the question as to whether, what is at this point in time, what is largely a commodity will contribute enough to make you shell out $60 for a PPV. Will we see a mainstream shift of acceptance to something that is the same but also very different?

Women's professional sports in general are about seeing the female forum. That's not news. This is why all the masculine and formerly male athletes are generally not well-regarded--it's pointless to have women's sports filled with them.

He is popular because he chose to play the average Joe rebeling against the man (Dana) and shows up looking like a hobo to antagonize which people like. He is the Cactus Jack/Mankind of the UFC. Nick Diaz also has taken a different path to be marketable and has been successful. I believe that both these fighters would be more marketable/popular/wealthy if they were blessed with striking looks as well.

There has been no marketing push behind Roy. If he cleaned up his appearance he would be talked about in the title picture right now.

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